St. Joe's nurse wins prestigious John C. Sibley Award for education
For her contributions to the education of health professionals, Patricia 'Pat' Ford, an Advanced Practice Nurse at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, is receiving the John C. Sibley Award on May 15, 2018. It's named for a former associate dean at McMaster who was known for bringing an interdisciplinary approach to community health. And in Ford's case, it couldn't be more apt.
She said it takes a village – make that a team – to care for an older individual who's acutely ill or at risk of being further deconditioned. "And that's one of St. Joe's strengths."
"As an organization we recognize the value of interprofessional teams in units," Ford said. "In each of the programs we now have a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social worker, access to recreation therapy and more. That's a huge commitment from the organization to the contributions each of those professions makes to the optimization of geriatric care."
The award recognizes her work as an educator. Ford has mentored more than 20 clinical faculty members over two decades at the McMaster University School of Nursing.
It takes experience, confidence and tact to instruct and guide clinicians who are at the top of their professions and teaching for the first time, Ford said.
"I've been asked to help mentor senior staff pursuing faculty positions because of my lengthy experience as teacher," the Assistant Clinical Professor said.
Ford started teaching part-time in the faculty of gerontology after the leadership at St. Joe's encouraged her to reach out into the community.
In addition to being a teacher and mentor, Ford has been an evaluator for Masters and PhD students projects and has represented nursing as a member of numerous committees and professional organizations.
"When you teach you're constantly refreshing and learning new things," Ford said. "You're constantly being challenged."
As she acquires knowledge and grows, Ford brings it all back to St. Joe's. She's been at our hospital since 1988 after almost signing up to work at another hospital.
"I decided to come in and walk through the hospital," Ford said. "It was the mission statement, the chapel and the sense of living that mission of caring for vulnerable people that won me over. This is an organization that fits with my philosophy of care and service to the community."
At that time, St. Joe's was introducing geriatric teams. Ford was hired as a Geriatric Nurse Clinician and joined that pioneer team of interdisciplinary professionals.
"I think nursing is one of the best professions. There's so much you can do," Ford said. "You can be at the bedside, in the community, work as an administrator and they all require compassion and the professional responsibility for getting patients as well as they can be."